Economist warns of further pressure on housing stock

ANZ senior economist Mark Smith warns that the increasing number of people moving to New Zealand will put pressure on the housing market - particularly in Auckland and Canterbury.

Official figures from Statistics New Zealand show 1200 more people permanently moved to the country in March than departed.

That's the highest net gain since the start of 2010 - and mainly due to the slowing exodus of New Zealanders to Australia.

Mr Smith said many of those migrants are New Zealanders returning home from overseas. A lot are moving to Canterbury as rebuilding after the quakes ramps up.

Mr Smith said it's positive in terms of increasing the potential output growth of the economy, but additional people will put pressure on the housing stock.

"For example net inflows into the Auckland market remain positive, although not as strong as they have been historically, so we're likely to see more pressure on the housing stock in Auckland and also in Canterbury."